Straight shooter

Amanda McLaughlin got involved in biathlon through army cadets. (Nick Pearce Photo)

C A N A D A   G A M E S

Amanda McLaughlin has a confession to make: She doesn’t really like winter.

So what better way to force yourself outside than to pursue a nordic sport? That’s what Ms. McLaughlin thought anyway as she strapped on her cross-country skis and put her rifle in its carrying harness on her back. A member of the Nova Scotia biathlon team, she took up biathlon when she was 12.

“I’ve never been someone who likes the cold,” she says, coming in from outside well bundled, with a long, nubby white scarf looped around her neck. “But doing this makes my winter a lot more fun. It’s really nice to do something with other people who take fitness seriously.”

Biathlon is one tough sport, combining cross-country skiing—ski skating actually—and precision target shooting. During the Canada Games, she’ll compete in four races: the 7.5 kilometre sprint; the 12.5 km individual; the 10 km pursuit; and the 3 by 6 km relay.

The distances indicated, by the way, are only if you hit your targets during the shooting intervals. In a race like the sprint, every shot missed is another loop around the course. In the individual race, missed shots translate into 30 extra seconds added to your time.

Growing up in the army cadets, the 20-year-old Halifax native says she’s a better shooter than a skier and is comfortable handling her .22 calibre rifle. What makes biathlon so difficult is that it switches back and forth between skiing, which gets the heart pumping, and marksmanship, which requires calm and steady nerves.

Mental preparation

“There’s a lot of mental preparation,” says Ms. McLaughlin, a third-year Dalhousie student majoring in biochemistry. “You’ve got to make yourself calm down, take deep breaths and slow yourself down when you’ve just been giving it all you’ve got for the skiing.”

Training for biathlon happens year round. When there’s no snow, she works on her cardio endurance by roller skiing, cycling and running.

And biathlon is just one part of her life. As aspiring doctor, she’s devoted to her studies, volunteers at the VG and plays piano. “I micro-manage every minute of my day,” she says with a laugh.
 
In Nova Scotia, biathlon is still a fairly new sport; there’s only been a facility in the province—located at Ski Martock—for a year. Compared to athletes from other provinces, Nova Scotian athletes are at a disadvantage.

“Honestly, I don’t know how we’ll fare nationally but some of the younger kids, the next generation of competitors, are absolutely going to be jumping up on that podium,” says Ms. McLaughlin. “There are programs for younger kids now that just didn’t exist before.”

Dalhousie is a proud Sapphire Sponsor of the 2011 Canada Games. For more:

• Visit our Canada Games website with links to all Games-related Dal News stories
• Read first-person Games accounts and get Dalhousie results at our blog
• Contribute your Games photos to our Flickr group.